Music

Is Austin rock band Ume music's next big thing?

Austin, Texas, trio Ume will play the Walnut Room in Denver on Tuesday. The band will return to town for an Aug. 14 gig at the Bluebird Theater. (Photo by Sandy Carson)

Like a lot of bands, Austin, Texas, guitar-rock trio Ume has been perpetually touted by critics as the next big thing.

Unlike a lot of bands, Ume (pronounced ooh-may) would actually deserve the brass ring if it grasped it. The 7-year-old group, led by the luminous, riff-driven songwriting of Lauren Larson, has been building a career the old-fashioned way: with killer music, an explosive live show and exhaustive touring.

Self-taught guitarist Larson immediately impresses with her stage presence, whipping her hair around and mercilessly hammering her instrument while injecting the tunes with ethereal, melody-drenched vocals. It's a fever dream in which "Live Through This"-era Hole, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Sonic Youth coexist (somewhat) peacefully.

We caught up with Larson via phone in advance of Ume's latest tour, which brings it to the Walnut Room on Tuesday with the Life and Times, and to the Bluebird Theater on Aug. 14 with Toadies and Helmet.

Q: Ume is playing Denver twice in the next few months — which isn't unusual. How do you find the energy to tour so much?

A: We always consider ourselves a working band, and we've always hit the road to tour. Early on we were driving 800 miles to a show and breaking down five times on the way there to play to nobody. Even our merch guy walked out! So we're doing this just for the love of getting our music out to people.

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Q: Ume gets praised a lot as the next big thing, but it seems you might actually be getting there: Your unorthodox guitar style was just profiled in Guitar World magazine, and I understand you're going to be on the new season of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations." How did that come about?

A: "No Reservations" picked us along with the Sword and Sleigh Bells to cover at South by Southwest this year, so they came out to one of our shows and then we went to dinner with Anthony Bourdain, which was awesome. It went so smoothly, and everyone just hit it off. I think the restaurant kind of tricked us, though. We asked for whatever beer they recommended, and it happened to be one of the triple-strength ones. I don't even remember leaving that night, so that should tell you how it unfolded. We ate chicken testicles and talked about Cracker Barrel. Anthony Bourdain said we were the first band he's eaten with that were true foodies.

Q: And I heard you're a mentor and teacher at the Girls Rock Camp in Austin. What do you get out of doing that?

A: When I started playing in bands when I was 14, I didn't really have many female role models in a 90 percent guy-oriented punk rock scene. So it's a real honor to work with these girls and see how they overcome some of their insecurities that took me years to get over. I don't always fit the image of a heavy indie-rock musician, so some girls are surprised. Some of them think I look like a camper, too. But I try to teach them how to scream and let go. One of my dreams is to be paving the way for other girls to rock out and not get mistaken for the merch girl.

Q: I know you're also working on a new album and possibly touring Europe in the fall, but what's your big-picture goal for the next couple of years or so?

A: Our goal is to get our music out to as many people as possible, but it's our goal also to never be cynical and always be appreciative of every single person, every single wayward group or promoter that has supported the group or taken a risk on the band. It's the music industry and there are no guarantees at all, so whether we're playing for 50 or 500 people we're always trying to do our best.

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